ABOUT THE SHOW

This 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist is a drop-kicking, body-slamming, balls-out theatrical happening set in the larger-than-life world of professional wrestling. Macedonio “Mace” Guerra plays the fall-guy for mega-successful “THE” Wrestling League, losing again and again to the impossibly charismatic champ Chad Deity. When Mace discovers a young Indian-American Brooklyn kid whose charisma rivals that of Chad’s, Mace decides to get him a job in the company. Only problem is, the boss has a very specific plan for the duo: put them onscreen as terrorists. The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity is a kick-ass comedy for the Obama-age. In wrestling, as in life, it’s tough to voice your own identity over the roar of the crowd.

NOTE: The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity special effects include the use of a fog machine and strobe lighting.

We hope you loved CHAD DEITY as much as we did! If so, please help us spread the word. The show has been EXTENDED through October 7, and we want all your friends to join us before it closes! They'll get an email telling them about the show, and for your efforts, you get entered to win an autographed CHAD DEITY script! Check out the details for your chance to win: http://bit.ly/ChadReferAFriend

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is partnering with José Andrés to bring back the Oyamel Experience at Woolly! For eight special nights patrons can purchase a prix fixe menu and tickets to a show on a single reservation through Woolly Mammoth’s Box Office. Enjoy a delicious prix fixe menu from Oyamel hosted in Woolly Mammoth’s award winning Lobby then stay for The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity. Seating for this unique opportunity is limited and reservations are required! Learn more in the Schedule and Prices section.

PRAISE FOR THE SHOW

“Chad Deity is not a wrestling play per se; it is a morality play” – Washington Post

“Even if the world of professional wrestling is not your cup of tea — or should I say can of beer…you’ll find yourself engaged by this 4th wall busting production.”
– MD Theatre Guide

“A tale of identity, race, and consumerism wrapped in sparkly Lycra muscle grip!”
– Brightest Young Things
“Woolly is doing some of the most innovative, interesting, and audience-grabbing feats with their technology. More people need to see this.” – Brightest Young Things
“Long title, great show. Go see it. Seriously.” – Brightest Young Things

“A scathing satire with dialogue as sharp and hard-hitting as its characters’ toughest punches, this fresh piece of comic theater thrusts the gaudy world of TV wrestling under the spotlight while tackling serious American hypocrisies about race and social mobility in the process.” – Georgetown Voice

“The energy that radiates from The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, Kristoffer Diaz’s crazy-like-a-fox comedy about television wrestling, is the real thing. This delightfully muscular production courses with the vital sap of an able-bodied satire enjoying a rollicking love-hate affair with its subject.” – The New York Times

“The delicious crackle and pop of a galloping, honest-to-God, all-American satire.” – The New York Times

“The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, Kristoffer Diaz‟s vibrant play set in the wacky world of professional wrestling, seems tailor-made for people who find contemporary drama dull, staid and more or less irrelevant. This satirical work leaps out of the proscenium frame at every opportunity, exhorting, drop-kicking and body-slamming its way into an immediacy that is more familiar to sporting events and rap concerts than to a traditional night of theater.” – The Los Angeles Times

“Thrilling entry into the brave new world of bright lights, racial complexities and hot new plays.”– The Chicago Tribune

HOUSE LIGHTS UP

Play Powerbomb!, the new online video game based on CHAD DEITY!
You play Mace, and your goal is to make Chad Deity look like the champ that he is! Successfully “put over” The Deity and win discounted tickets* to the production!

Makin’ it Big as a Bad Guy: Personal Stories of Professional WrestlersThursday, September 13 at 6pm
Rehearsal Hall
Join Marcus “King Kong” Dowling and Mempho Mofo for a panel discussion moderated by The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity fight choreographer, Joe Isenberg.
Tickets: Free and open to the public.
Reservations: woollymammoth.net, 202-393-3939, or at the door (641 D Street, NW)

Trivia Nights
August 19 – September 6, 2012
Around DC
Are you a professional wrestling Super Fan? Did you have a Hulk Hogan poster on your wall as a kid? Is your Monday night all about Raw, or did you stop watching when Stone Cold retired? Whether you were a fan then, or are still one now, join Woolly Mammoth and Trivia Kings at bars around town for an evening of WWE inspired trivia. Winners receive a free pair of tickets to The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity. Prepare to see the show by brushing up on WWE superstars, entrance theme songs, and famous finishing moves. Do you have what it takes to claim the ultimate trivia championship title, brother?

Lobby Design: End to End Graffiti Wall
Thru October 7, 2012
Lower Lobby
Make your mark on our End to End Graffiti Wall, a larger-than-life art installation. Name your “inner champion” and tag it on our hip hop-flavored urban art canvas and see how others define themselves in this crowdsourced public art piece.

Post Show Conversations Following EVERY Performance
Thru October 7, 2012
In the Theatre
Do you ever leave the theatre with lingering questions or feisty responses to what you saw? Woolly is re-vamping our post-show discussion schedule to include a conversation after every performance of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity.“ These audience exchanges will be held in the lower lobby and facilitated by a member of Woolly’s community. What did you see? Why did it look like that? What did it mean to you? Come discuss these and other questions with your fellow audience members.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM

Kristoffer Diaz (Playwright) is an educator living and working in Brooklyn. Full-length titles include The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, Welcome to Arroyo’s, Guernica, and #therevolution. Awards include the 2011 New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award; finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; winner, 2011 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play; winner, 2011 OBIE Award, Best New American Play; and the inaugural Gail Merrifield Papp Fellowship from The Public Theater (2011). His work has been produced, commissioned, and developed at The Public Theater, Dallas Theater Center, Geffen Playhouse, Center Theatre Group, Goodman Theatre, Second Stage Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and many others. He is currently developing The Unfortunates, his first full-length musical collaboration, at Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

John Vreeke (Director) is a Company Member of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. He is a five-time Helen Hayes Nominee for Best Director. His productions for Woolly Mammoth include A Bright New Boise by Sam Hunter, Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph, Boom by Peter Sinn-Nachtrieb, Homebody/Kabul by Tony Kushner, Our Lady of 121st Street by Stephen Adly Guirgis, Martha, Josie & the Chinese Elvis by Charlotte Jones, and The K of D by Laura Schellhardt. John has also directed at Theater J, Washington Shakespeare Company, MetroStage, Everyman Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Forum Theatre, Source Festival, Charter Theatre, Theater Alliance, Kennedy Center TYA, Imagination Stage, and Helen Hayes Awards. Regionally at Alley Theatre, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Attic Theatre, Salt Lake Acting Company, and First Stage in Milwaukee. He was the Associate Producer and Casting Associate CBS TV Series: Northern Exposure. His upcoming project is Theater J: Race by David Mamet.

Cast will include Company Member Michael Russotto (A Bright New Boise, House of Gold, Full Circle), Jose Joaquin Perez (Oedipus el Rey), Shawn T. Andrew, Adi Hanash, and James Long.

The Helen Hayes Award-nominated design team from A Bright New Boise will return with set design by Company Member Misha Kachman, lighting design by Company Member Colin K. Bills, costume design by Misha Kachman and Ivania Stack, sound design by Christopher Baine, projection design by Jared Mezzocchi, and fight choreography by Joe Isenberg.

TICKETS

The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity runs September 3 - October 7, 2012; Tickets start at $35, and can be purchased through the Woolly Mammoth Box Office at 202-393-3939, online, or in person at 641 D Street, NW (7th & D). For directions and parking information, please visit www.woollymammoth.net.

Tickets for The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity start at $35, and can be purchased through the Woolly Mammoth Box Office at 202-393-3939, online, or in person at 641 D Street, NW (7th & D).

EXTENDED THROUGH OCTOBER 7!

PWYC = Pay What You Can
OPEN = Opening Night

OYAMEL EXPERIENCE

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is partnering with José Andrés to bring back the Oyamel Experience at Woolly! For eight special nights patrons can purchase a prix fixe menu and tickets to a show on a single reservation through Woolly Mammoth’s Box Office. Enjoy a delicious prix fixe menu from Oyamel hosted in Woolly Mammoth’s award winning Lobby then stay for The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity. Seating for this unique opportunity is limited and reservations are required!

RESERVATIONS: To book your reservation today call the Woolly Mammoth Box Office at 202-393-3939 and mention The Oyamel Experience!

Choose from the following dates:

Friday 9/14, Saturday 9/15

Friday 9/21, Saturday 9/22

Friday 9/28, Saturday 9/29

Friday 10/5, Saturday 10/6

Oyamel’s prix fixe menu is $50 per person. (Tax and tip included!)

Tickets purchased with a dinner reservation are only $50! (Savings of up to 25% off regularly priced tickets!)

All dinner reservations require a minimum party size of two (2).

Reservations must be made by phone with the Woolly Mammoth Box Office.